PLAi^^TS OP BERMTJBA, 91 



B. Spihelets sessile, few-Jlowered, distinct on one side of unhranched 

 solitary or digitate spikes, 



II. CH LOTUS. 



Spikes digitate ; spikelets in two rows, containing both male and per" 

 feet florets. 



1. C. petracea (Bed-grass). Smooth; leafy and prostrate at the 

 base, the slender, compressed flowering stem erect, ten to twelve 

 inches high ; leaves about two inches long, blunt, flat, sheath com- 

 pressed ; spikes two to five, slender, erect, an inch and a half long, 

 finely serrated along the back ; glumes emarginate, shortly awned, 

 perfect florets ovate. Distribution, Jamaica, etc. ; habitat, dry 

 limestone hills and waysides, a common native grass ; the yellowish 

 glumes are very persistent, and remain conspicuous long after the 

 black grains have fallen. November. 



III. CYNOnON. 



Spikelets awnless, one-flowered, arranged in a single row on the under 

 side of slender, digitate spikes. 



1. C. Bactylon (Bermuda grass). A smooth perennial grass ; stem 

 creeping at the base and forming large patches, rising in flower 

 four to six inches ; leaves three to four inches long, half-inch wide, 

 hairy on margin, sheath cofiipressed; spikes two to five, slender, 

 spreading, two inches long, the spikelets closely applied to the 

 slender three-nerved axis ; glumes three-nerved ; anthers purple. 

 Distribution, Bahamas and United States ; habitat, generally dis- 

 tributed throughout the Islands, easily distinguished from the 

 surrounding grasses by its glossy, dark green leaves ; summer 

 months. 



IV. PASI'ALVM. 



Spikelets one-flowered, usually rounded and closely arranged in two or 

 four rows on the under side of the slender, digitate spikes ; glumes two- 

 membraneous, equal, closely pressed to the leathery, awnless flower ; styles 

 feathery, and together with the anthers, deep purple. 



1. F.fliforme (Wire-grass). Perennial, forming long, wiry and 

 knotted, underground stems, flowering stem slender, erect, half to 

 one foot high ; leaves very slender, one to three inches long, sheaths 

 slightly compressed, hairy ; spikes two to five, approximate, spread- 

 ing, about an inch and a half long ; spikelets in two rows, ovate, 

 pointed, closely applied to the slender axis, which is rounded and 

 smooth on the upper surface. Distribution, West Indies ; habitat, 

 common everywhere, a most troublesome grass to eradicate and a 

 great pest to the farmer. 



2. P. distichum, L. vel. T. littorale. A perennial seaside grass ; 

 stems stout, fleshy, compressed, creeping, sometimes forming coarse 

 leafy tufts and rising one to two feet high ; leaves two to four inches 

 lon^, folded together, rarely flat, obscurely jointed about the mid- 



